Jurors in the longest criminal trial in UK history have told of their struggle to return to a normal life.
After 20 months of listening to evidence, four of 12 jurors in a complex fraud case say it left them in need of counselling.
Although jurors are legally barred from revealing their deliberations, the quartet wanted to reveal the stress they had suffered and have called for more support for those who have to serve in very long trials.
Named only as Julie, Anne-Marie, Paul and Emma, they said they did not regret performing their civic duty, but admitted that the trial of Edwin McLaren, 52, who ran a £1.6million property fraud scheme, had taken its toll on their careers and their wellbeing.
Jailed: Edwin McLaren, who ran a £1.6million property fraud scheme, and his wife Lorraine
When the £7.5million hearing began in September 2015 they were told it should last six months. But when McLaren was finally found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in jail at the High Court in Glasgow in May, only 12 of the Scots system’s original 15-strong jury remained. The rest then faced the additional stress of knowing that if one more dropped out, the whole case would collapse.
McLaren’s wife Lorraine, 51, got two-and-a-half years after she was found guilty of two charges in what is thought to be the longest criminal case in legal history.
Juror Julie, a travel agent, said that she had always been a ‘people person’ but had managed only four days back at work since the trial ended.
‘You were sitting in a room listening to evidence but you didn’t communicate. I’m really struggling with communication now,’ she told the BBC.
Civil servant Paul, 51, said he needed retraining to go back to his job and had also struggled with communication after 320 court days of sitting in silence. But he also missed the trial and would sometimes find himself heading towards the High Court
McLaren was finally found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in jail at the High Court in Glasgow
Emma, 26, decided to quit her fast-food job and went to college to study social sciences after the trial gave her ‘time to reflect’.
She said she ‘felt lost at times’ and had often relied on fellow jurors to help her cope, rather than a court system which offered little in the way of support.
Anne Marie, 57, another civil servant, said she now missed being with fellow jurors.
‘To be on my own now at work, it just feels strange,’ she said. ‘I’ve worked there for many years but I don’t feel I belong there.’
She said lessons ought to be learned to help future jurors, but no one in the system had even asked about their experiences.